Help me
by NiksFictions
Summary: Elliot notices something unusual about Olivia that could possibly end her life. He wants to help her but how can you save someone from them self? Possibly a oneshot. E/O
1. A note

A note…

Self injury is often a common misconception that people just want attention, or they're suicidal, or they're punishing themselves. This is NOT always true. Some, or maybe even most, people turn to self injury as an outlet for dealing with emotional pain. Self injury is mostly common among teenagers, but anyone of any age can suffer from this life-threatening addiction. You probably know self-injury as "Being emo." Emo comes from the word Emotional. When someone who self-injures gets emotional they turn to hurting themselves as a cure because takes away the pain.

Self injury is a very difficult addiction to overcome, so if you know anyone who self injures, or if you are a self injurer, don't be afraid to get help by talking to a counselor, or just simply by telling someone who cares about you. I know it's a difficult thing to talk about and that you may not want anyone to know, but just remember that one scratch too deep could end your life.

~Nikki


	2. Care

I do NOT own these characters or the show, all credit goes to NBC. No copyright infringement intended[=

Well I've actually had this idea for like a month, and I tried writing three different ways, but I like this one the best[= please review!

It was a late Tuesday night and Elliot and Olivia were at the precinct cramming on their boatloads of case paperwork.

Elliot stared down at the blank victim sheet. In the blanks he was supposed to fill in the name "Beverly Melendez". A nine-teen year old girl, gang raped by strangers in a sleezy bar, where the strangers spiked her drink causing her to lose all her body control, but sadly not all the feeling. When the rape was finished they put her in the trunk of their car. They had a small accident in which another car had hit them from the side which made the entire car jolt, causing Beverly's spine to slam into the wall of the trunk, paralyzing her instantly and permanently. Beverly also recently commit suicide due to her terrible ordeal by using her only moving limbs which were her arms to slash her own throat at the hospital when no one was looking.

Elliot sighed and wished that things like this didn't happen. These were one of those moments where he began to think if taking this job was the best decision. Then he thought about all the victims he helped get justice for, even some that he had prevented from becoming victims, which of course made him think about all the unsuccessful victims like Beverly. As he stared at the blank sheet he flashed back to the Gitano case. The guilt of that little boy dying will haunt him for the rest of his life. Not to mention the guilt he felt for blaming Olivia at the time, when he knew it was his fault. Olivia. His partner and best friend of 11 years. He thought about everything they've been through, he knew they were "too close" for partners and that he cares about her, maybe even too much for partners. Maybe he even cares about her more than best friends should.

He looked up at Olivia. She had slight bags under eyes, which the job stress can sometimes give you. Olivia was scribbling down on a different victims sheet. He admired her beautiful face, which now had a stern look of concentration on it as she completed her paperwork. Olivia picked up her coffee, the other hand still writing, and took a sip.

Her sleeve slid down her arm slightly as she sipped her coffee, causing Elliot to catch a glimpse of her tan colored arm.

Elliot's eyes widened.

While Olivia was drinking her coffee, Elliot caught a glimpse of a small red, horizontal slit peeking out from underneath her long sleeved, black sweatshirt. _She cut herself?_

Elliot followed the cut, as she brought her arm back down, and folded her hand underneath her chin. The cut was now hidden from Elliot's sight.

Olivia had no idea that she had just flashed her wrist to Elliot accidentally.

Elliot wanted to jump out of his chair right then to confront Olivia about her cut. But he realized that he should approach the situation more calmly. It would probably be best if he talked to her about it tomorrow, after they both got a good night's sleep.

Elliot tried to finish his paperwork but he couldn't get Olivia's wrist out of his mind. He was beginning to worry. _What could have happened in order to cause Olivia to hurt herself? What if she cuts again? What if she goes too deep?_ These questions swirled around in Elliot's mind. He couldn't think. He decided to finish the paperwork in the morning and just go home.

He stood up and murmured a short "Night." to Olivia before heading out the door and driving home.

########

He parked the car in his driveway, before inhaling deeply and stepping out of the car.

Elliot slowly unlocked the front door to the house and pushed the door open. He prayed for the door not to squeak. He tip-toed over to the bedroom, to find Kathy laying down in bed. He breathed a sigh of relief. He undressed and quietly unfolded the sheets and he began to slide himself into the bed.

"Don't bother." Elliot was startled to hear Kathy's voice.

"Huh?" Elliot froze.

Kathy pulled herself up and turned to face him. There were mascara streaks smudged from tears down her face. She was crying because he came home late again for the 4th time this week. _Must be that time of the month_. Kathy always tends to get sensitive around her 'time.'

"I said don't bother…" She continued. "..the couch looks cozy."

Elliot sighed. He got up, grabbed a pillow, and exited the bedroom. He laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. All he could think about was Olivia. He was so concerned. His mind began to race with possibilities on why she would cut. _What if she's cutting right now, what if she pops a vain!_ He needed to talk to her as soon as he could. He glanced at his cell phone. It was 3:15am. He decided to call her just to make sure she was feeling all right.

He walked as far away from the bedroom as he could, to make sure Kathy won't hear their conversation. He didn't need to make her any more upset.

He dialed her number and prayed for an answer.

"El?"

"Hi."

"Hi?" She repeated the question back, curious at why he was calling her at 3 am.

"Oh, were you sleeping?" He hoped he didn't wake her.

"I wish, I barely came home and now I can't fall asleep cause of all the damn coffee I drank."

"Well in that case…." He wasn't sure if he should confront her now, but if she cuts one more time it could end her life. '_Better safe than sorry' _He paused shortly before continuing "..can I meet you somewhere? I need to talk to you."

She hesitated before answering.

"Uhh yeah. I wasn't gonna sleep tonight anyway, Where?"

"The Park?"

"You want to talk to me in the park?" _What the hell is going on?_

"Yes, it's serious."

"What could be that serious El?"

"I'd rather tell you in person." Olivia could sense the seriousness in his voice. She sighed.

"Fine, when?"

"If I leave now I'll be there in 5."

"Okay, see you in 5, El."

Elliot snuck into the laundry room and pulled out a clean white, v-neck, t-shirt and a pair of jeans from the dryer and changed into them. He slipped on his black leather jacket then, very quietly, opened the front door and locked it on the way out.

######

Olivia was still wearing her work clothes so she decided to change. She put on a pair of jeans, a white lace camisole, a striped knit v-neck sweater, and her coat. She took the elevator down to the lobby, went outside, got into her car and drove off.

Elliot was already there by the time Olivia arrived. He was standing casually by a tree when Olivia spotted him. He looked quite handsome in his casual attire which Olivia rarely ever gets to see him in and Olivia couldn't help but notice.

"Hey." She approached him with a half-nervous smile.

"Hey." Elliot tried to smile back. He was concerned about her and just wanted to start talking to her about it.

"So why did you need to talk to me?"

Elliot took a deep breath. He picked up her left arm in a way so that she was now holding her arm out in front of him. Olivia looked at him with a puzzled expression. Then he turns her wrist up, and Olivia knew what was coming next. She closed her eyes in defeat.

"Why are you doing this?" Elliot asked, placing a hand on top of her wrist, which was currently covered by the sweater and coat. Her stomach dropped with the feeling of being caught.

"I just got mad all right?" Olivia yanked her arm away and hoped he wouldn't ask her any more questions about it.

Elliot could see she was tense, so he took a step closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Look, I know that by doing this you are numbing whatever is bothering you…" Elliot knew because quite a lot of victims and teens that they deal with at SVU, too result to cutting when they feel a negative emotion. "…but please don't do it this way. I'm worried about you." Olivia had never seen Elliot so concerned about her before.

Olivia looked down at the grass they were standing over and sighed.

"Please, Liv. You don't need to tell me why you did it, but just please don't do it anymore." Olivia felt unusual. She liked that Elliot was showing that he cared about her, but she didn't understand why he cared so much.

"Let me see it."

Olivia's eyes widened.

"Let me see it." He repeated again. His voice was gentle and soft.

Olivia held her arm out and pulled up her sleeve. She looked away so that she could avoid his reaction.

Elliot felt like something had hit him. There were 5 straight lines across her wrist. Two were almost healed, another two began to form scabs and that one cut that he saw today which looked like has been done yesterday. It was bright red, and had a ring of redness surrounding it as well.

"Oh, Liv." He said gently placing a hand on top of her cuts.

"I'm fine-" She started.

"No, your not fine. Please stop this, Liv." Elliot's voice nearly cracked.

Olivia looked into his eyes before honestly asking,

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I care about _you._ And if you hurt yourself…" He looked down at her wrist, his hand still resting on it, and began stroked his thumb gently back and forth over her cuts. "…you hurt _me_." He looked back at her.

Olivia desperately wanted to hug him for saying that. But that would be 'wrong'. She lifted her head up and looked into his eyes. She saw the concern and worry in them.

"Okay. I'll _try_ to stop." She whispered, with a half smile.

"Try?"

"Well I can't make any guarantees El."

"Fine, let's start off with try. But the next time you want to do it, just think about how much it hurts me to see you do this to yourself."

Olivia nodded. She had tears beginning to form.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She whispered while looking down, praying that her tears wouldn't fall.

"Come here." He said opening his arms. Olivia hesitated at first knowing he's married and they're partners but she could tell that he was really, truly, scared and worried about her. She accepted the hug, tucking her arms under his, and holding him towards her.

Elliot wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He could smell the scent of shampoo in her hair as they hugged. Then Elliot pulled his head away, but didn't break the embrace.

"Don't hurt me by hurting yourself, Liv." Olivia felt the tears fall down her cheeks.

#####

TBC? Maybe…

Should I continue?


End file.
